Homemade Laundry Powder.

I've been meaning to get this down for what seems like an age, I'm already on my second batch and it lasts a loooong time.
I've seen lots of posts of people making their own washing powder so I decided to make my own, I was a bit dubious as to how well it would clean especially on a quick wash as that's my go to cycle I was worried the soap wouldn't dissolve but it did! The clothes came out as clean as they would with shop bought power so I was really impressed. I used some left over Karma soap from LUSH but I've since used other soap and it's worked just as well.

What you need:

Oxy powder 50p per 500g

Soda Crystals 50p per 500g

1-2 Bars of Soap (depending on how perfumed you like it) 50p+ (depending on what soap you buy)

Grater

Total cost: £1.50

Measure 500g each of Oxy and Soda Crystals into a large tub and grate your soap into it.
Mix together and use 2 scoops per wash.

It's really that easy. I've used the lager sized grater and it's worked just as well, the oxy and the soada crystals are 1kg each so enough for 2 batches, each batch have lasted me just over a month which is pretty good going.

Give it a go :)

Pom Pom Sorting!

This is one is so simple but really fun.
All you'll need is some coloured pom poms and some coloured cups.

Throw them all in a bowl and let your toddler go crazy, sorting them into the right cups, we had lots of fun putting the wrong colours in the wrong cups, Little Badger thought this was hilarious and took great delight in showing silly Mama where they were really supposed to go!
This is great from colour recognition and fine motor skill.

Big Art! Wallpaper Drawing.

Today is rainy and dreary, we've spent the last few days puddle splashing and Mama Badger would really like to stay dry this morning before we visit the Grandbadgers this afternoon.
Little Badger loves to draw, he's really getting the hang of colouring but once he's finished a picture he wants more paper, this means he gets very bored, very quickly. I recently saw a post somewhere about getting your child to lie down on some left over wallpaper so you could draw around them, well this didn't go down very well, he wanted to look at every line I drew and got a bit stressed out so our person ended up with a massive head, weird feet and no hands, luckily this didn't bother Little Badger, I taped it to the door and let him colour it in, he took great delight in announcing that he'd drawn Tree Fu Tom!

This kept him occupied for a good 30 mins before he'd finished colouring, We also drew some little ladybirds and caterpillars on a length of paper and taped it to the floor, he had so much fun colouring, it's definitely something we'll do again!

The Trouble with Face Cream.

I suffer from combination skin, no matter what moisturiser I try on my face it either dries it out comepletly or makes it feel like I've been head first in the butter dish! Over the years I've spent a fortune on trying to find something that suited my skin, nearly everything makes my face sweat within minutes of applying. I've tried budget, organic, light, night, you name it I've bought it.
With money being tight I was having a look to see if there was any deals in ASDA when I decided to give their own range aimed at "young skin". I bought these two for £1 each.
                                         
I won't lie, I didn't think they we're going to do anything special, in fact I didn't think they were going to be any good at all.
I was absolutely blown away by just how amazing these little beauties are!
The face scrub has tiny little bits of walnut shell, it smells nice and leaves you skin feeling soft and clean, it doesn't leave any residue and it doesn't dry out your face.
The moisturiser is just awesome, I really can't get over how much I love it, it soaks in really fast, it's not like the usual moisturisers I've tried, this leaves a matt finish, it doesn't leave your face feeling slippery or oily, it just leaves it soft and cool, they have a lovely smell that isn't at all over powering.
I've noticed a massive difference in breakouts since using these and my face doesn't seem half as red, overall I think this is a great range and will be trying the other products too.

The only thing that isn't too great is the tubes aren't widely recycled, but ASDA are against animal testing and fund research into alternatives which is awesome!
For anyone that has trouble with oily or combinations skin I really would recommend giving this a whirl.

We've Been on Holiday!

And it didn't cost a fortune!

In the last few years, we just haven't had the money to go on holiday, we'd decided we'd like to go on our first family holiday this year so started looking around, I was gutted when I realised just how much it would be for a short break in the UK, it wasn't till a friend mentioned they were going on a "sun" holiday, you've all seen them advertised, you collect the vouchers each week from various papers and get a heavily discounted holiday.

We really wanted to go to Cornwall so picked a caravan holiday at Parkdean in St Minver, the online prices were around £300 for a 4 night stay, our stay cost us £70, we saved a little bit of money by taking our own bed linen. I knew we would have to stop at the services on the way there but wanted to avoid the steep prices they charge for food so we made a bunch of sandwiches, squash and a flash of coffee, we travelled down early and reached the beach for 8am, the weather wasn't great but we went for a nice walk and just sat and watched the waves.

There was lots of things we wanted to do but we didn't bank on Little Badger getting so tired. A lot of the time we needed to come back pretty early for a nap and sometimes he'd need one before we even got out! We made the most of the small soft play on site and the amusements.

Keeping this holiday low cost has been far easier than I thought, we did a full shop the day we arrived so we wouldn't be tempted to order takeaway or eat out, checking the weather forecast for the next day was essential, we didn't want to stay stuck inside so the days it rained we took advantage of the swimming pool or the local villages with lots of shops to duck in and out of, on the sunny days we went for long walks, hit the beach or took advantage of free attractions.




I was just so lovely to get away and spend some proper time together after how crappy the beginning of the year has been, we all feel lovely and recharged.

Cost breakdown:
Accommodation: £70
Fuel: £100
Food: £60
=£230*
*plus £200 spending money.

We did splash out a little and came back with no spare spending money though, the thing that caught us out the most was change for parking, we ended up getting cash back quite a few times because we'd not stopped to get change which soon added up, but all in all we managed to have a break away for under £500 which is fab. We will definitely be doing the same next year!

Wholewheat Pitta Bread.

I've always fancied having a go at making some pitta breads but always thought it was going to be a bit of a faff. How wrong was I! These are so easy to make and ridiculously cheap, 22p for six! I will definitely be adding these to our regular menu as they are just so lovely and simple to make.

You'll need:
9oz Wholemeal Flour
7g Sachet of Dried Yeast
6floz Lukewarm Water

Method:
Mix the flour and yeast together in a bowl and make a well in the middle.
Add the water until it starts to form a dough (you may not need it all)
Kneed for 5-10 minutes and divide into 6 balls.
Roll out the balls to a thin pitta shape and place on an oiled baking tray. Remember your dough will rise so you need to roll it thinner than you think.
Pre heat oven too 250C/230Cfan/Gas 9
Leave in a warm place until the pittas have doubled in size.
Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until they are just starting to colour.
Place them on a wire rack to cool.
Enjoy!

Living with no heating.

Okay, I'm going to let you in to a little secret.....
We have no heating.
By this I don't mean out boiler is broken or we're waiting for an engineer, we just simply don't have central heating that works properly. When we moved into our new house it was the middle of summer and blistering hot, the thought of heating didn't even cross our minds, so when it started getting a bit chilly around the end of October we popped the heating on a few times, imagine our horror then our MONTHLY bill arrived and was £195! I did some research and it turns out that our storage heaters are not on E7 which means they don't run on a cheaper night rate, nor are they connected to a timer to make them come on at night, you have to turn them on manually, wait for them to heat up and then get your heating, extremely expensive if you forget to turn them off and they don't really kick out enough heat to get the room about 15C. Brrrr!
Since then we've been and bought an oil filled radiator for £25 and we have run two of these every day, sometimes all day and haven't had a bill higher than £90 and are getting less.
These last few months I've worked hard trying to keep the house nice and warm and prepare for when the temperature really drops in February and now have a little routine that is working well and keeping the house no lower than 18C with is quite comfortable.
One thing that I have found absolutely essential is when to open and close your curtains, if its still dark when you get up, don't open them! You will lose so much heat just from opening or closing them at the wrong time, as soon as the sun starts to go down you need to draw them, it really is that simple. Make sure all of your windows are covered, it's were most of your heat will escape, if you don't have curtains make them out of anything you can, we spent about a month with a shower curtain in our bedroom window, it might not look pretty but it will help keep you warm.
Another tip (which is a no brainer really) put on a jumper. You can't expect to be able to sit around in your underwear and be warm when you have no central heating, it just isn't going to happen I'm afraid, wrap up in your dressing gown, put on socks and just dress snugly.
I use lots of ways to heat up the house that I will cover in more depth in the near future but unfortunately I have housework to be getting on with *sigh* which, incidentally is another great way to keep warm!

Five Day Frugality!

How many times do you find yourself nipping to the shop for a bottle of milk and coming home £10 lighter?
Well for me it's regularly, I'm really really terrible for impulse buying, especially when it comes to food, then I get home look in my shopping and think "Why on earth did I buy that? Crap, I forgot the thing I actually needed!" It absolutely burns money, I have never sat down and added up actual figures from receipts but I estimate that I can easily spend £25 a week on "milk". It's ridiculous seeing as I make a weekly meal plan and budget, but it seems I forget that just because I've bought what I've budgeted for doesn't mean everything else doesn't completely blow the budget.

So today I'm challenging myself over the next five days to spend no money whatsoever. There is of course exceptions for direct debits, or absolute essentials like petrol, nappies and milk (JUST MILK!) but ultimately my aim is to just not buy anything. Nothing from the shop, nothing online, nada!

Wish me luck, I think I may need it.

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup.

I love soup, especially when it's cold, it's a great way to use up those odds and ends that are kicking about taking up space. Soup is so quick and easy and a great way of packing lots of different veg into one dish.


You'll need:
1 Butternut Squash
1 Sweet Potato
2 Med Carrots
3 Sticks Celery
1 Onion
1 Garlic Clove
2 Veg Stock Cubes
Ground Coriander, Black Pepper & Nutmeg to taste.
Serves 4. 40p per serving


Method:
Preheat the oven to 190C, cut the squash in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds, place skin side up on a baking tray and roast till the skin begins to shine and the flesh is soft. This makes the skin just peel off and roasting it adds flavour.

Finely chop the garlic, onion and celery and fry off gently in a large pan. Meanwhile peel the skin from the squash and chop into large chunks, peel and chop the sweet potato and carrots and add to the pan, cook for 5 minutes then add the squash.

Crumble the stock cubes onto the veg and pour over enough water to nearly cover, put on the lid and leave to simmer until everything is nice and soft.

Once everything is soft, turn off the heat and leave to cool slightly before blending, once blended stir in the spices to taste.

Serve with some crusty bread.

Tasty Wholewheat Loaf.

I love bread, there's nothing better than on a cold day tearing up a slice of bread and dunking it into a thick soup, however I do not love what is in bread, shop bought bread to be exact.

Here are what's in one of the top selling UK brands of wholemeal bread.
Wholemeal Wheat Flour, Water, Kibbled Malted Wheat, Wheat Protein, Yeast, Sugar, Vegetable Oil, Salt, Malted Barley Flour, Vinegar, Soya Flour, Emulsifiers: E471, E472e; Preservative: Calcium Propionate (added to inhibit mould growth); Flour Treatment Agent: Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C).

Here's what's in mine.
Wholewheat flour, Water, Yeast, Olive oil, Dark brown sugar, Salt.

Yep, that's it, 6 ingredients, you can also completely omit the salt if you want to. It's taken me a while to get this recipe right, we've had dry bread, soggy bread, crumbly bread, sunken bread and finally we have this lovely soft bread and best of all it only cost 88p!

You'll need:
16floz Lukewarm Water
1.5lb Wholemeal Flour
3 tbps Olive Oil
2 tsp Dried Yeast
3 tsp Brown sugar
1 tsp salt
50g Seeds (optional)

I was given a bread maker and it's fab, if you don't have one I can highly recommend getting one if bread is something you eat a lot of, if you do, throw it all in and set it to "quick" (the booklet will tell you to only do white bread on quick, but I've tried on the wholewheat setting and it's turned out horrible and heavy every time.

Dont have a breadmaker?
Don't worry you can still make this.

Put your dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well in the middle.
Add the oil and most of the water and mix into a dough. (add more water if necessary)
Kneed on a lightly floured surface for a good 10 minutes, until smooth and elasticy, put in a bowl and cover with cling film and leave in a warm place (I use my airing cupboard) until doubled in size.
Pre heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas mark 7.
Turn the now double in sized dough onto a floured surface and kneed again to knock the air out.
Shape the dough into rugby shape and put in your loaf tin.
Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise again in a warm place for 30mins.
Bake the bread for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 190C/fan 170C/gas mark 5 for a further 30 mins, the loaf should sound hollow when "tapped on the bottom" *snigger*

The bread will last for 3 days (yeah right!) in a air tight container.

Enjoy your tasty bread.

New Years Resolutions.

Happy New Year!

I've never really been one for new years resolutions, I kind of just go with the flow and don't give much thought ahead to the coming year, but now I'm a grown up with my own house and child, I don't think that would be the brightest idea to just wait and see.

#1. Plan ahead.
Especially meals, I started to meal plan at the end of last year when money was tight, I sat here, cupboards bare with £12 in my pocket, 3 mouths to feed and 2 weeks until pay day, I pulled everything out of the cupboard and listed everything I had, to my surprise I managed to make 16 separate dinners and was able to easily make my £12 stretch for lunches too, I won't lie we ate a lot of pasta that week, but we ate.

#2. Cut the crap.
Food wise, sometimes when you're skint it can be all to tempting to buy crap, over processed, packet mix, tinned everything, I cook mainly from scratch so we don't have many dinners that come out of a packet, but when it comes to chocolate, breads or refined carbs, we do eat a lot, which is something I'd like to get away from. So we'll be swapping regular pasta for wholewheat versions, baking our own breads, replacing regular treats with a small treat once in a while, cut down on refined sugars and try to completely cut out anything highly processed and eat much less meat.

#3. Move more.
I won't lie, I'm a lazy Badger, I'm a fan of staying in where it's snug and warm and like to save adventures for when it's nice and dry, so I'm going to buy myself a mac and some wellies and brave the storm whilst reducing my carbon footprint.

#4. Be a gentler person.
Sometimes in life I find myself being a little harsh or a little thoughtless, whether that be to others, the earth or even myself. I often catch myself after a using a harsh tone, throwing out something that could of been recycled, criticizing myself and think to myself  "why did I do that?" It doesn't take much just to me that little but more mindful.

So these are mine, now what are yours?

Easy Playdough Recipe.

Here is a fab little recipe for playdough that you can make in just minutes with things you will find in your store cupboard. It's super cheap to make and makes about 2 large playdough tubs worth, you could even make it as gifts for friends' children if you can find some nice storage pots. It's so much cheaper than shop bought dough, you can add herbs or spices like cinnamon, or even glitter to make it even more sensory.

You'll Need:

1/4 cup of salt
1 cup of plain flour

1/4 cup of water

Food colouring (optional)

NOTE: If you don't have a cup measure, you can just do what I did and use a mug, the ratios will me the same.

Put all your ingredients into a bowl and mix well with a fork.
Turn out onto a floured surface and kneed until you have a smooth dough.
If your dough is too soft, just add more flour until it has reached the desired consistency.

Wrap it in cling film and store in a cool place in between uses.

 And there you go, super quick and super cheap playdough that will keep your little ones occupied for hours.

Every Penny Counts..... Literally.

No I really really mean it, you know all those pennies that you just misplace, throw out, accidentally wrap up in the carrier bag and put it in the recycling? The could add up to £100's.

Over the past year every time we find one of those pesky little pennies knocking about the house it's been thrown into a pot.
This morning we emptied out the pot onto the table and set about sorting through the bronze and the silver and bagging them up.

We are a card family, we rarely carry cash (this totally needs to change but that is a whole other blog) so imagine my surprise when we counted.......


£99.10!!!!!!

We have used this to open a savings account for Baby Badger as we have never got round to it when he was born.Let me warn you though, don't try to sort your pennies if your toddler is awake! Not only do will you have your neatly sorted coins scattered all over the house but you will also have grimy hands leaving you unable to fish bits of floor fluff from your toddlers mouth with out rigorously scrubbing your hands first, by which time that floor fluff will be no more.